EU state wants Russia at Ukraine peace talks

The next international summit for finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict must include Russia, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said on Wednesday, after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrey Sibiga.

According to Blanar, the Ukraine conflict has no “military solution” and steps must be taken in order to end it through negotiations “as soon as possible.” He noted that Kiev supports the idea of inviting representatives from Russia to the next conference.

“We agreed and the minister confirmed that the next peace negotiation must be with the participation of the Russian Federation,” Blanar stated, as cited by the Slovak newspaper Pravda. Blanar also signaled Bratislava’s support for Ukraine’s EU membership bid, but noted that Slovakia is opposed to Kiev’s ambitions to join NATO.

“Ukraine’s membership in NATO would create further conflicts,” Blanar stated, without elaborating. Russia has consistently emphasized its opposition to Ukraine joining NATO. Kiev’s neutral status is one of the key demands Moscow has made for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Russia was not invited to a previous Ukraine peace conference held in Switzerland in June. The gathering failed to deliver any visible results, with many nations refusing to sign a joint declaration and lamenting Russia’s absence. Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the event as a “ruse,” aimed at “reversing the cause and effect” of the conflict.

Ukraine and Russia last negotiated in the spring of 2022 in Türkiye. The two sides managed to draft a peace treaty that was preliminarily approved. However, the document was never finalized, and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky later issued a decree banning peace talks with Putin.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok earlier this month, Putin accused the West of “ordering” Kiev to drop the treaty due to “the wish of the elites” to “inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.”

Former US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland later confirmed that Kiev had rejected the treaty on orders from its Western backers.

Kiev’s rhetoric has been changing in recent weeks, however. In an interview with NBC earlier this month, Zelensky said he “realized” that without Russia at the table it would be “very difficult” to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict, and stated that representatives from Moscow will be invited to the next peace conference.

Russia has often expressed its eagerness to resolve the conflict diplomatically, but noted that any talks should be based on the realities on the ground and should take into account the interests of all parties.

The next peace conference has not yet been scheduled, but reports indicate one could take place later this fall.